Baladi News - Aleppo
Batool, 12-years-old, has passed away in Duyouf Alsharqiah camp, in Al Bab city of the eastern countryside of Aleppo, due to the absence of medical care and the deterioration of her health condition, being born with a serious disease.
Batool's brother, Mamdouh, talked to Baladi News about the story of his sister and the suffering of his family during Batool's treatment journey in Damscus, till her recent death in the displacement camp, away from their city Douma, which they forced to leave.
"Batool suffered from cerebral palsy since she was born" Mamdouh says, "where she went under treatment in Al Muasat hospital in Damascus. But with the start of the Syrian Revolution and the tightened security imposed by Assad's forces we no longer have the ability to continue her treatment, due to the difficulty of going in and out of Douma, and that caused significant deterioration in her health."
"With the beginning of the siege imposed by Assad's regime on eastern Ghouta," Mamdouh continues, "Batool's condition worsened considerably, due to the lack of medicines that keep her alive. In the last offensive, Batool suffered physical and psychological pains while we were in underground shelters, hiding from Assad's warplanes and missiles. And that offensive ended with our displacement from our city Douma to the countryside of Aleppo."
Mamdouh then talks about the agony of his sister during the journey of forcible displacement; before arriving to the displacement camps that lack the basic necessities of life, and do not protect from the heat of summer nor from the cold of winter.
"Due to the absence of services, and to the weather disorder, Batool's condition inside the camp has become even worse, and upon taking her to a hospital in Al Bab city, a doctor in the hospital said: There is no treatment for her, just wait for her death! While other doctors in a private hospital said she need an urgent surgery.
It was few hours only before going for the surgery when she passed away..."
Mamdouh says the reason he lost his little sister is the lack of medical services and the absence of any care for the patients, especially those who are in critical conditions like his sister.
Reporting by Omran Al Doumani for Baladi News.